The cause of the deadly fire at the Gabriel House assisted living home in Fall River, Massachusetts is still unknown, but investigators said Wednesday they've made "significant progress."

Nine residents died Sunday night and 30 more were hurt in the smoky fire. A tenth victim died in the hospital Wednesday. It was the deadliest fire in Massachusetts in 41 years. 

9 of 10 victims now identified

Nine of the ten victims have now been identified. Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn said 77-year-old Joseph Wilansky was the eighth person who died in the Sunday fire. The name of a 70-year-old woman, still has not been released. A tenth victim, 66-year-old Brenda Cropper, had been hospitalized in critical condition and died Wednesday.

Bacon added that six of his firefighters were hurt that night, not five as originally reported, but that none of their injuries were life-threatening.

Chief says fire "was destined to kill 50+ people"

The fire chief said the firefighters didn't want to talk to the media about their heroic actions on Sunday night.  But, holding back tears, he emotionally recounted what some of them went through, saying they described "seeing faces in windows and having to decide who they need to rescue."

"These actions are heroic. And they're repeated over, and over and over again by the 35 firefighters that showed up on duty that night. There's no doubt in my mind that that fire was destined to kill 50+ people and that the firefighters from Fall River in conjunction with the police department and the EMS division and the EMA division saved all of those lives. Unfortunately nine were not able to be saved. But that number should have been 4-5 times that," Bacon said, before the death of the 10th victim was announced.

Officials announced an agreement Wednesday to increase staffing at the Fall River Fire Department. 

State Police fire investigators working with the State Fire Marshal's office are trying to determine how and where the fire started.

"Significant progress"

"This can be a difficult task depending on the extent of the damage, which was pretty severe in parts of the building," Jake Wark, a spokesman for the state Department of Fire Services, said in a statement Wednesday.

"Nonetheless, they've made significant progress based on an examination of the scene, interviews with residents and other witnesses, a review of available video footage from the area, and other sources."

The cause of the fire does not appear to be suspicious at this point in the investigation, Wark said.

"Investigators have not narrowed the potential factors down to the single cause necessary for a conclusive determination and I don't expect anything for at least a few days," he said.

Gabriel House inspections and owner

Authorities are taking a closer look at inspection records for Gabriel House. WBZ-TV's I-Team learned that state inspectors had not been there since October 2023.

The last city inspection was completed on October 15, 2024. That certificate was due to expire on October 15, 2025.

At the scene Wednesday, Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn dodged requests for comment from reporters behind a fence blocking the public from the burned-out building. 

Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said he did finally hear from Etzkorn when he unexpectedly showed up at city hall Wednesday, after the mayor called him out for his absence on Tuesday. 

"He said, 'You know you sounded like you were mad yesterday at me,'" Coogan said. "I said I was a little upset that you didn't call us back. I said in an incident like this, I like constant contact back-and-forth." 

Etzkorn hasn't replied to multiple requests for comment from CBS News and WBZ-TV.

• Fall River News